The study is designed to elucidate factors contributing to the maintenance of pathological drinking in alcoholic families. The relative influence of three types of factors are being evaluated; patterns of alcohol consumption, interactional behavior, and environmental setting. A model is proposed in which it is hypothesized that alcoholic families shift between two fundamentally different interactional states, a state associated with sobriety and a state associated with intoxication. The intoxicated state is thought to be characterized by behavior that is repetitive and stereotyped, and may actually help to stabilize the family by its ability to organize and structure behavior for all family members. 48 families are being studied in a multi-method naturalistic design that collects observational data about structural components of interactional behavior in three settings; in-home observations; multiple-family discussion groups; and family interactions laboratory. Two phases of data collection are proposed to ensure a longitudinal panel design, an initial 6-month-phase, and a subsequent 3-month phase two years later. An in-home observation coding method has been developed which concentrates on discrete elements of behavior recorded sequentially. Discussion group data includes speech rates and direction of speech, initial seating arrangements, and sociometry. The laboratory procedure used is the Pattern Recognition Card Sort (Reiss). Data analysis will produce a topology of alcoholic families that it is hoped will have predictive power regarding stability of family behavioral variables and prognosis of chronic alcoholism.